Violin bow



L. S. BROWN VIOLIN Bow Oct. 4, 1949.

l Filed Dec. 21, 1944 Patented Oct. 4, 1949 krITE!) r1 1 STATES PATENT I' OFFICE A 2,483,4as Y VIOLIN BOW ,i Luther 1S. .-Brown, Fresno, Calif. Application Decemberv 21, 1944, Serial No. 569,156.

Y 2- Claims.r (Cl. 844-282) ""Heretofore when the hair or like material of a, violin bow breaks or becomes worn or otherwise unttedior Yfurther use it hasY been-necessary to deliverthe'bow toa trained expertfor replacenient or'renewal ofthe hair. This is an extremely particular process inasmuch as the hair must be positioned in jsuchamannerthat when the tension is applied to the hair in adjusting the bow all of@ the hairs will be under exactly the same tension. This is necessary in order that clear resonant" tonesk may be'produced when the violin is being played. This, f. necessity, obliges the user to possess an extra bow or cease using his violin: whilertlie .bow iswbeing.- repaired,r which aside from the inconvenience..oftenresults in financial loss, through. inability to use his instrument.

It listhe prime object of. myfiinvention to provide afviolin rbow so. constructed.r and arranged as to permit. the quickand easy renewal orreplacem'ent of the hair or like portion thereof, practically instantaneously, rand without the need forspecial tools .or specic. knowledge.

.Another objecty is. to provide aconstruction as above set4 forth.. whereby a supply of extra, or spare,` replacement units. may' becarried bythe user of a violin so that replacements or renewals can be made at any time it is desired or necessary.

A still further object is to provide mechanism of the above character which will be simple in construction and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, without in any way altering the appearance of the bow.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter and, while I have shown and will describe the preferred form of my invention it will be understood that I do not limit myself to such preferred form but that various changes and adaptations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a violin bow constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section and on an enlarged scale of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan of Fig. 2 with parts omitted for clearness of illustration.

Fig. 4 is a right hand end elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig 6 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in section of the front or tip end of my bow.

Fig. 'T is a likeview ofthe heel or adjustable end of my"bow.

Referring to the drawings I0 indicates thebow shaft of the usual construction provided at its forward -end with the usual upturned end and at its rear orfheel end'with theflongitudinally slidable block I2, or-frog as itis known.

- In practicing my invention, in lieu of the comm'only known or usual onefpiece frog, I provide a `frog composed of the lower section orbody I3, the/lower edge |11 of which'is recessed lengthwise tosnug'ly fity the shaft I0' at the end thereof and is provided" with a downwardly depending eye t5, which projects'into a recess I6 near the end of the sadshaft l0.; Ay screw threaded adjustingmember I1 is positionecllengthwise within the frog end of theshaft In: and passes. throughithe eye- I5 inscrewv threaded engagement there-with se'that rotating-'saidmember Ifl will cause body. member I3 to move along the shaft I0, the pur-V pose of which will befhereafter explained.

Formed inthe `upper face of the body I3 is a dove tai-fl recess I8, the inner or forward end of which is closed as at I9. and detachably mounted inthis recess |8is a dove tail 2| which depends downwardly from the underside of .the slide member 22, preferably integral therewith. Formed in the upper face of the slide member 2l is a rectangular recess 23, which extends from the front or forward end of member 2| lengthwise thereof and terminates at a distance from the other end. The top or upper face of the recess 23 is closed by a slideable cover 24.

As best shown in Fig. 2 a recess 26 is formed in the lower face of the member 22 and this recess is connected by an opening 21 with the recess 23. The forward end of the member 2| projects beyond the end of the body I3 and is semi-arcuate in transverse section and the forward end of the cover 24 coincides therewith, a ferrule 28 surrounds these projecting ends and serves to hold the same against accidental displacement.

Formed in the upper face of the upturned tip is a socket 29 provided with a metallic lining 30 (which lining may lbe omitted if desired or found advisable). This socket 29 is substantially rectangular in top plan and arcuate in cross section lengthwise of the shaft I0, being practically hook-shaped when viewed from the side, the lower termination projecting slightly beyond the vertical to form a hook or key socket 3|. A plug 32 of a shape coinciding with the shape of the socket 29 has one of the ends of the hairs 33 embedded therein to extend from the upper face thereof (Figs. 2 and 6) so that when said plug is positioned within the recess 29 and tension applied to the hairs lengthwise, the lower projecting hook end of said plug will be forced into the lower hook like projection of the recess 29 locking said plug securely within said recess, the greater the tension applied the more secure the lock. The other ends of the hairs 33 are passed into the recess 23, through the opening 21 and into the recess 26, this last recess then being filled with suitable cement or binder to hold said hairs securely positioned.

In the operation of my invention it will be understood that a replacement or renewal unitwill comprise the hairs 33 with the plug 32 secured to one end and the slide member 2|y secured to the other end, the hairs being of a suitable predetermined length to t the bow when properly positioned for use.

When it is desired to replace the hairs of a bow with a new unit the adjusting screw Il will rst be removed permitting the frog to be detached from the shaft. Then by separating the slide 22 from the body member I3 by sliding the same in reverse directions as will be obvious, one end of the hairs will be freed from the frog. The hairs will then be grasped at a point as near the plug 32 as is practicable and a slight upward pull will withdraw said plug from its socket 3|, thus freeing the discarded hairs from the bow. In installing a new replacement the slide 22 will first be positioned upon the body I3 by means of f,

the dove tail. The plug will then be positioned within the socket 3l and a slight tension applied to the hair parallel with the shaft l0. The frog member will then be positioned upon the end of said shaft and the adjusting screw l1 positioned whereby said frog is securely held in position upon the shaft l0. Screw Il will be operated to slide said frog along the shaft to impart the desired tension to the hairs.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1- In a violin bow including a shaft having an upturned tip at one end and a frog at the other end and a hair unit extending between said tip and frog, a tip engaging member to which one end of said hair unit is secured, said member being substantially segmental in side elevation with the base thereof uppermost and the front and rear walls curved downwardly and forwardly and terminating in a forwardly extending lip, and a socket in said tip having an interior configuration coinciding with said tip engaging member, the curvature of the end walls of said member and socket being such that downward pressure upon the base of said member will cause said tip to rotate downwardly and forwardly and project said lip into the tip of said socket.

2. In a violin bow including a shaft having an upturned tip at one end and a frog at the other end and a hair unit extending between said frog and tip, a frog engaging member to which one end of said hair unit is detachably secured, said member comprising a rectangular base provided on its inner face with a lengthwise extending dovetail portion extending from one end to near the other, a shallow recess in the opposite face of said base, a slidable closure for said recess, a recess in the outer face of said dovetail in longitudinal alinement with said first recess, and a connection between said recesses at right angles thereto, and a lengthwise ways in the outer face of the frog adapted for the reception of said dovetail, the end of said ways being closed to limit the forward movement of said frog engaging member.

LUTHER. S. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

